ERIA & Solvay Business Game 2024
Welcome to ERIA, a vanguard in the realm of robotics services, where we champion the integration of our advanced robotic assistant, Pepper robot, to transform customer interactions into seamless, engaging experiences. Our collaboration with the Solvay Business Game 2024 underscores our commitment to innovation, as we bring Pepper robot into the heart of Europe’s premier business competition.
The Solvay Business Game (SBG) stands as a testament to the rigorous, strategic battlefield of the business world, challenging over 400 aspiring leaders with real-world scenarios. Esteemed for its collaboration with industry giants such as McKinsey & Company, BDO, SNCB International, Interparking, and Duvel Moortgat—partners who have stood by the event for many years—the Game offers a unique platform for participants to showcase their skills in strategy, creativity, and entrepreneurship.
This year's competition is characterized by four main challenges, each designed to test a distinct set of skills:
- Pitch Challenge (sponsored by McKinsey & Company): Participants craft compelling pitches for technologies that can make a societal impact, honing their creativity, strategic thinking, and presentation skills.
- Strategy Challenge (sponsored by CACEIS): Teams develop long-term business strategies, showcasing their analytical thinking, strategic planning, and financial acumen.
- Negotiation Challenge (sponsored by BDO): A real-world negotiation simulation where teams strive for the best outcome, testing their negotiation tactics, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.
- Eloquence Challenge: The finale for top teams, focusing on public speaking and persuasion to demonstrate the power of eloquence in business.
By aligning with the Solvay Business Game, ERIA not only showcases the capabilities of Pepper robot but also reinforces the importance of integrating innovative technology with human creativity and strategic thought. This partnership symbolizes our belief in the symbiotic relationship between humans and robots, paving the way for a future where technology enhances every aspect of our professional lives.
Genesis: ERIA at Solvay Business Game 2024
The journey of ERIA's partnership with the Solvay Business Game (SBG) 2024 is a tale of inspiration and serendipity, starting at the previous year's competition. Thomas Maréchal, CEO of ERIA, alongside Thomas O'Cuilleanain, our lead developer, attended the Solvay Business Game 2023 as participants. Immersed in the electrifying challenges and the spirit of innovation that pervaded the event, they left with a resolve not just to return but to evolve to perform during the challenges of the next edition.
The creation of ERIA marked a turning point in this ambition. With a newfound mission, Thomas Maréchal saw in ERIA not just a company but a vessel for shared values and transformative experiences, mirroring the ethos of the Solvay Business Game organizers and participants. The vision was clear: to leverage ERIA's expertise and the capabilities of Pepper robot to elevate the SBG experience to new heights.
Reaching out to Álvaro Raso de Llanos, SBG 2024's president, Thomas proposed a partnership to integrate Pepper robot's capabilities into the event's fabric. The positive response set a foundation for a collaboration rooted in innovation and shared values. In our initial discussions, it quickly became apparent that together, we could significantly enhance the SBG experience, embarking on a venture to create something impactful for SBG 2024.
Vision: Elevating Participant Experiences
When the Solvay Business Game (SBG) organizers envisioned an information desk to assist participants throughout the event, they sought an innovative solution that would elevate the participant experience beyond traditional methods. The idea to employ Pepper robot as the face of this information desk came from Iman Solh, the Logistics Manager for SBG. This concept perfectly aligned with the future-forward ethos of the event and presented an exciting challenge for ERIA.
Our response to their needs was to deploy two of our most dynamic software modules: the Webpage module and the Chatbot module.
The Webpage module was identified as the ideal tool to display essential event information in an interactive and user-friendly manner directly on Pepper robot's tablet interface. This module would cover a wide range of information, including detailed explanations of the challenges, the event schedule, introductions to partners and the SBG2024 team, venue maps, and a feedback hub. What makes this module particularly effective is its ability to link actions—such as speaking, moving, or launching other modules—to specific content, transforming Pepper robot into an engaging and multifunctional information kiosk.
Parallelly, the Chatbot module was chosen to add a layer of personalized interaction. This module enables Pepper robot to function as a question-answer assistant, where participants can engage in direct conversations to inquire about specific details of the event, such as upcoming challenges, information about partners, and more. Accessed through a simple tap on Pepper robot's tablet that says "Ask A Question," this feature promises to make information retrieval not just informative but also interactive and enjoyable.
Development: InnovatingSolutions
As we dove into the development journey for the Solvay Business Game 2024, we leaned on our Webpage module—a ready-to-deploy asset in our toolkit, perfectly suited for presenting essential event information. The challenge lay in tailoring the Chatbot Module for an environment alive with noise and activity. Our innovative solution was to integrate a keyboard into Pepper robot's tablet interface, ensuring clear and effective communication between participants and Pepper robot, despite the surrounding bustle.
In addition to enhancing text-based interactions, we refined Pepper robot's vocal capabilities, dynamically adjusting its volume to match the ambient noise levels, ensuring Pepper robot remained an engaging presence throughout the event. This development phase highlighted ERIA's dedication to providing solutions that are not only technologically advanced but also keenly attuned to the needs of a lively event atmosphere.
Media: Crafting Engagements
In the heart of our collaboration with the Solvay Business Game (SBG) 2024 was the ambitious task of creating custom media for Pepper robot that would captivate and inform participants throughout the event. Key to this endeavor was designing a new website, specifically tailored to be accessible through Pepper robot, ensuring all vital information about the SBG was at participants' fingertips. This website was dynamic, allowing us to update information in real-time to reflect the latest on challenges and schedules, ensuring content remained as current and useful as possible.
The website was crafted with user experience at its core—simple, intuitive navigation enabled by a top bar on all pages, allowing users to seamlessly access various subpages filled with categorized information. This design philosophy extended to ensuring the website's compatibility with Pepper robot's tablet interface, making information retrieval a smooth, user-friendly process.
To complement the website, we developed specialized ChatGPT prompts, feeding them with comprehensive details not only available on the website but also including deeper insights about the event’s partners. This approach ensured that Pepper robot could provide nuanced and extensive information, enriching the participants' experience and knowledge.
We also infused the ChatGPT prompts with a personality that was neutral and formal, mirroring the professional atmosphere of the SBG while ensuring equitable representation of all partners. This personality was programmed to provide accurate, verified information and, in cases of uncertainty, to guide users to consult the website directly on Pepper robot's tablet or seek assistance from the SBG organization team. This careful design consideration was aimed at enhancing participant interaction with Pepper robot, ensuring that each engagement was informative, reliable, and user-centric.
Event Insights: Data & Interactions
At the Solvay Business Game 2024, ERIA's integration of Pepper robot as a dynamic information desk was met with great anticipation and, ultimately, impressive engagement. Over the two days of the event, the data collected painted a picture of curiosity and evolving interaction: 482 page views, 471 scrolls, and 183 messages sent through the chatbot. This quantitative feedback was complemented by qualitative observations; initially, participants displayed a mix of keen interest and slight hesitation towards engaging with Pepper.
Recognizing this initial shyness, we proactively encouraged attendees to interact with Pepper roboton the second day. This gentle nudge had a remarkable effect, doubling the messages sent to the chatbot. This increase not only reflected growing comfort and curiosity among the participants but also underscored the importance of direct encouragement in fostering human-robot interaction.
The analytics provided deeper insights into participant engagement patterns. Event views correlated strongly with the SBG schedule, showcasing peaks during breaks—prime times for interaction with Pepper robot—and troughs during challenge sessions, when participants were otherwise occupied. This pattern emphasizes the natural human interest in exploring new technologies, especially when time permits.
A closer look at the page views reveals the areas of highest interest to participants:
- Home: 279 views, indicating a general interest in the event’s overview.
- Help (Chatbot): 106 views, showing a significant engagement with the chatbot for assistance and information.
- Schedule: 32 views, used by participants to keep track of event timings.
- Challenges: 24 views, suggesting an interest in understanding more about the competition aspects.
- Give A Feedback: 15 views, reflecting a willingness to provide input on their experience.
- Partners: 12 views, indicating curiosity about the organizations supporting the event.
- Maps: 6 views and Giveaways: 5 views, showing more specific interests.
- About Us: 3 views, the least, yet important for those interested in learning more about the organizers.
This data not only highlights the areas of most interest to participants but also underscores the success of integrating Pepper robot into the event, providing a unique, engaging, and informative experience. The insights gained from this event will be invaluable in refining our approach to future deployments, ensuring that we continue to captivate and engage audiences in innovative ways.
Feedback: Learning from Experience
Feedback from the Solvay Business Game 2024 provided fascinating insights into how participants interacted with Pepper robot, revealing a three-step process that underscores Pepper robot's humanoid nature. Initially, participants tested physical interactions like handshakes or eye-following, seeking a tangible connection with Pepper robot. The next phase involved verbal communication, where participants spoke to Pepper robot, exploring its conversational abilities. Finally, tablet interaction highlighted Pepper robot's dual function as both a robot and an interactive tool.
A key piece of feedback was the essential role of Pepper robot's ability to guide users through its interface using speech, making interactions more intuitive and engaging. However, it became evident that there was some uncertainty about the extent of Pepper's knowledge, suggesting a need for clearer communication about its capabilities.
This feedback is invaluable, pointing towards the importance of designing interactions that are intuitive and informative, setting clear expectations for users to enhance their experience with humanoid robots like Pepper robot.
Forward: Next Steps in Interaction
Reflecting on the feedback from the Solvay Business Game 2024, ERIA is poised to enhance Pepper robot's interaction capabilities, focusing on intuitive physical and verbal communication. We're embarking on developing new voice interaction features, a move prompted by the event's insights. This ambitious update aims to make engaging with Pepper robot as natural as conversing with a person, despite the anticipated development challenges.
Our vision extends beyond just refining technology; we aim to redefine the dynamics of human-robot interaction at events and in everyday settings. ERIA is committed to pushing the boundaries of these interactions, ensuring they are not only possible but also enriching and seamlessly integrated into the human experience.
As we look to the future, our journey with Pepper robot at the Solvay Business Game has only reinforced our dedication to innovating at the intersection of humanity and robotics, driving us towards a future where technology enhances every interaction.
Join Us: Follow Our Journey
Join us on our journey towards pioneering human-robot interaction. Follow ERIA on social media for the latest updates on our events, software developments, and how Pepper robot is changing the way we interact with technology. Your engagement drives our innovation, and together, we can explore the future of meaningful technology in everyday life.